Sheilah Britton Fred and Pat Flanagan lived in the Northeast for 35 years before visiting the Southwest. “We fell in love with this place,” says Fred. “When we first visited SaddleBrooke, we decided it was the place we’d settle.” They bought a home in SaddleBrooke in 1999 but it was 2006 before they actually made the…
Zann Wilson Your SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners invite you to join us for an online Community Education program with our long-time friend and frequent presenter, Mark Sitter, owner of B and B Cactus Farm on East Speedway. Join the free Zoom webinar on Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. Mark will discuss “Winter Hardy Cactus” for…
Sheilah Britton The more agaves I discover, the more I feel they represent the theatrical spirit of the desert. With colors ranging from silver and blue to red and green, in stripes and textures, with teeth and hair, their characteristics seem almost human. Species of agave are found in the United States, Mexico, and Central…
Linda Vautrin-Hale No time like the present to save your spot for the Master Gardeners Lecture Series: Springtime Gardening in the Desert. This is a new series of talks to be held on Wednesdays in February 2021 via a Zoom format. Lectures are free. These lectures are designed to resolve basic gardening issues along with gaining…
Zann Wilson Your SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners are pleased to bring Director of the Desert Lab at Tumamoc Hill, Ben Wilder, to our Thursday, Nov. 19, online program at 1 p.m. A unique combination of science and culture, Tumamoc Hill is an 860-acre ecological preserve in the heart of Tucson. Its innovative, sustained, long-term environmental…
Sheilah Britton I was recently awarded the certification of Master Gardener, an honor to be sure, but hardly an accurate description since I am still, and will probably forever be a life-long learner in this landscape. SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners are university trained volunteers who serve as community educators. We work with the University of…
Sheilah Britton September is like a sigh of relief in the desert. Temperatures begin to fall, nights take on soft breezes, and we slowly return to spending more time outdoors in the middle of the day. While we can’t count on everyday being mild, the shorter daylight hours assure us that we are on our…
Zann Wilson Your SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners invite you to join our virtual Community Education via Zoom on Thursday, September 17, at 1 p.m. Arizona time. Scott Richardson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist, will present Backyard Bats. Scott has responsibility over the previously endangered lesser long-nosed bat. Scott first became interested in bats while working…
Sheilah Britton If you ventured from your shelter in place into Oro Valley or Tucson last spring, you might have seen a glorious array of flowering ocotillo in the medians of nearly every street you traveled. The slim, un-branched gray spires are covered in thorns and close green leaves and topped with tubular clusters of…
Jay Dunn On Feb. 13, 17 interns completed the SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners course, which included 13 weeks of class, a test, and two mock plants in the field. After the test review, they celebrated at the home of Master Gardener Alison Lang. This is a short course sponsored by University of Arizona College of Agriculture…